I think over the years iâve gotten used to my embedded devices doing as much âstuffâ as possible. Most of the devices i have at home are embedded and tweakable; i can change the firmware of my router, my NAS, my Raspberry 4, my sat/cable receiver, my beamer, my phone etc. Theyâre all basically the same devices, running ARM/MIPS linux with a package manager (or Android), and i can tweak them to my hearts content. The Nova is the only embedded device i have that is closed, and that is a pity.
I would have no problem with installing Samba and perhaps a separate UPNP server, and using the Nova as a fileserver. It would be super convenient i think. I currently only have a Raspberry with an SSD in the network to perform this task because the Nova doesnât do it, although it technically could.
Iâm personally not really in the âcpu usage affects sound qualityâ camp. I believe the effect is generally negligible (at least on a device like the Nova) and i much prefer my device to do as much as possible. As long as everything runs stable i think itâs fine.
I understand ofcourse that the Naim streamers are not marketed as tweakable devices like the ones i mentioned and thatâs okay. But still, itâs a pity. Iâll dream on. 